The boys were enthusiastically belting out songs in the private room, while the girls huddled together, chatting away. The place had the unmistakable vibe of a lively, popular crowd, and amid them, Chiba Yu looked exactly like a husky that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
He held a glass of juice. After taking a sip, he quietly listened to their laughter and playful antics.
Coming here really was the worst decision I'd made in the past few days.
"Chiba, I'm sorry. I guess I was presumptuous."
Hirata came over and gave Chiba Yu an apologetic smile. He'd just finished chatting with the girls, and when he saw Chiba Yu sitting all alone, he came over to talk.
"It's not your fault, Hirata. I'm just too bad at fitting in." Chiba Yu assured him he didn't blame him, then struck up a conversation.
"Hirata, what do you think of this school?"
Glancing over at Karuizawa Kei, who had started singing with Matsushita and the others, Chiba Yu asked a question that seemed utterly meaningless.
"Hmm... I think it's great. We can choose whatever job we like after graduation, and we even get a hundred thousand points every month."
It was a very ordinary answer—or rather, one that perfectly matched the way an ordinary person would think.
"What do you think, Chiba?" Hirata asked in return.
"Me..." Chiba Yu's gaze gradually went unfocused, his thoughts seemingly drifting far away. To Hirata, though, it merely looked like he was thinking about how to answer.
"It feels... unrealistic."
"Unrealistic?" Hirata looked confused.
"Hirata, do you really think the school is giving us all this without any conditions?" The question made Hirata fall silent in thought. The look in his eyes shifted a little.
"Why do you say that? Could the school have some other motive?"
Chiba Yu let out a quiet sigh, then added, "It's nothing. That's just my own guess. Think of it as a joke."
But Hirata was bound to become one of Class D's leaders, and he was naturally observant. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his expression turned serious.
"No! I think what you said is worth considering. But could you tell me why you think that?"
What a pain. That was the most honest thought that crossed my mind in that moment.
I'd only said it because I was bored, and because I wanted to see what these people might do if they got a few hints ahead of time. I hadn't expected to drag myself straight into the fire.
"I just have a gut feeling that something's off. Besides, it's only a high school. It's not like they'd really deceive us, right?"
I threw the question back at Hirata and brushed the matter aside with a flimsy excuse. Still, after this, I figured I'd planted a seed of doubt in his mind.
"Hirata, let's sing a duet!"
Just as Hirata was about to say something, Karuizawa abruptly dragged him away, leaving Chiba Yu sitting by himself. After thinking for a moment, Chiba Yu picked up his coat, casually told Hirata he was leaving, and walked out of the room regardless of what Hirata said.
Outside, the sky had already turned pitch-black. Starlight dotted the heavens, making the night sky shine even more brightly.
Quiet.
That was Chiba Yu's clearest impression at that moment. Maybe the noise from the karaoke room had made the silence feel even more intense, because now, walking along the peaceful path, he felt exceptionally alone.
"The peaceful days are about to be over." Chiba Yu gazed up at the sky and sighed, then slowly headed back to the dorm...
May 1.
The sky was gloomy, thick with dark clouds as if they were about to swallow the world whole. The air was unnervingly still.
Feeling reluctant but knowing he had to go, Chiba Yu slung his bag over his shoulder and left the dorm.
But fate seemed to be deliberately messing with him. Even though I'd timed my departure to avoid running into anyone I knew—and having to go through the hassle of social pleasantries—a man stepped out of the dorm at the very same moment as Chiba Yu.
"...Good morning."
"Morning."
Over the past month, he'd started to wonder if the heavens had it in for him. Every time he left the dorm, there was an eighty percent chance he'd run into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. It made him suspect someone had set him up.
"Did you get the points from the school today?" The two headed toward the elevator. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook the terminal in his hand and asked as if seeking confirmation.
"Judging by the look on your face, you didn't get any either." Chiba Yu didn't hide the fact that he hadn't received any points. There was no need to.
"It seems there may have been some kind of problem on the school's end. Anyway, let's head to the classroom first."
After leaving the dorm building, the two walked side by side toward class without a word. They remained wrapped in their mutual silence until they were just outside the classroom.
But the next moment, as soon as we stepped inside together, everyone in the class turned to look at us. The atmosphere was unbearably tense.
"Hey, hey, Ayanokoji, did you get this month's points?" Ike, the big mouth, hurried over to Ayanokoji first and asked anxiously.
Had it started already? Just because the points hadn't come through, were they already this anxious?
"No."
"Looks like it's the same for everyone. Seriously, what's the school doing?"
"Exactly! I've been wanting that skirt for ages. I was just waiting for today's points to come in so I could buy it."
"Yeah, yeah!"
The class buzzed with complaints about the delayed points. Some even started openly grumbling about the school's inaction.
Honestly, they were so noisy...
Sitting quietly at his desk, Chiba Yu could only think about how loud they were.
Chiba Yu casually placed his bag under the desk and waited quietly for Chabashira Sae to arrive. Just then, Hirata came over to his desk.
Chiba Yu looked up at Hirata, whose face wore a faint, rueful smile, and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong, Hirata?"
Hirata replied with a hint of worry in his voice, "It's nothing. I just thought about what you said after I got home that day. And with what's happening now, I can't help feeling a little concerned."
Chiba Yu nodded. It seemed there were smart people in this class after all. But to only start worrying now—wasn't that a little late?
"Hey, Hirata, let's go to Keyaki Mall together after school. I heard there's a really good dessert shop there."
Karuizawa Kei, sitting in front of Chiba Yu, saw Hirata nearby and smiled as she spoke to him. Even though she was uneasy, she still considered other people's feelings first, like the good-natured person she was. Just like you, Hirata.
"All right, homeroom is about to begin." Chabashira Sae walked in and set the things in her hands on the podium.
"Sensei, why haven't this month's points been transferred yet?" Yamauchi Haruki was the first to raise his hand, asking impatiently.
"No, this month's points were transferred to you a long time ago," Chabashira Sae replied calmly.
"Huh? But..."
Chabashira Sae continued, "The points were transferred to you long ago. There's no doubt about that, and the school didn't leave this class out by mistake."
"But nothing's been deposited!"
Silence fell, as still as death. Chabashira Sae suddenly went quiet, and the atmosphere in the classroom grew unbearably tense.
So it was starting. It was almost like a declaration before an ancient battle, Chiba Yu couldn't help thinking.
"You really are a bunch of fools." Chabashira Sae lowered her voice and let a trace of a wicked smile show, as if she were suppressing some emotion. "I told you when school started that this school measures students by their ability. In other words, you've been rated as [0]—a bunch of trash!"
Chiba Yu slowly opened his eyes. From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Ayanokoji Kiyotaka by the window. Their gazes met for a split second.
Chiba Yu knew that from this moment on, their real school life had finally begun.
Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite!